Epiphany!
I have never been a big fan of shooting portraits in a studio, and last night it finally hit me why. At our monthly OC Photo Club meeting, we had a themed photo shoot in a studio. I was working with a group of photographers on lighting setups and ratios, when it hit me. Studios are the perfect environment to create a perfect photo. You have complete control of light, and last night we had beautiful models, talented hair and makeup staff, and compelling wardrobes and sets. Basically everything you need to create a perfect image. Yet every image I took wasnt perfect and that, for some reason bothers me. But when I take away the desire to create a perfect image, I love photography. At the end of the night, as we were tearing down equipment and people were packing up their gear, I grabbed Jamie, one of the models and took her outside. It was 9:30 at night and in the parking lot of an industrial complex where the studio is located, I placed Jamie in front of a wall, in an area that was lit by an ugly security spot light. I knew it would be a grainy image because of the low light, and the color of light sucked but I knew it would look great in black and white. This, in my eyes, is a perfect image. One that is void of perfection, yet completely soulful and moody.
MDA of So Cal
In the mail yesterday, I received a card from the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southern California. They were thanking me for spending a couple of hours taking photographs at the awards luncheon they had with the Central and Southern California fire fighters for raising money for the annual 2011 MDA Bootcamp.
Brian and the Roadster
January 1, 2012
I am supposed to be working on a post about my favorite images for 2011, but I thought it would be easier to blog about my favorite photo from 2012. This is actually the only photo I have taken, after 12 hours into the new year, but I think its a good start. On a beautiful 80 degree January 1st, we took the bike out for a ride and met Brian. Brian had rolled into the parking lot of the Lookout, a popular stop for bikers on Ortega Hwy overlooking Lake Elsinore, just as Debra and I were finishing lunch and getting ready to head back down. Debra couldnt help but take some photos of his 1931 ford roadster. And when I say roadster, were talking the good kind. A dirty, grungy, greasy frame with wheels, and engine, a gas tank strapped behind the drivers stadium style seat, and an old soda bottle wired to the radiator for overflow. I couldn’t not engage this guy and introduce myself. I love the goggles.
Ainia
I have rekindled a relationship that had fizzled out for a while. It is with Ainia, my 2003 SV1000. Now Ainia isn’t the most popular kid on the playground. She is a little heavier, and not as advanced as others in her class. She isn’t quite as fast, or as pretty either. And she doesn’t respond as well as others do. Its not her fault, she was built that way. Even when introduced in 2003, there wasn’t anything new or state-of-the-art with her. Her front end was taken from her sportier little brother, the 80′s cruiser round head light screams uncool, and the chrome mirrors mounted on top of the motocross style handlebars tell everyone she’s the last one picked for kickball.
I don’t care, none of those reasons were why I adopted her. Its her heritage that attracted me. Her engine was originally in the TL1000. Now this was a beast of a machine. Often referred to among riders as, “the Widow Maker”, this bike was discontinued by Suzuki due to what the manufacturer said was “handling problems”. So they tuned the engine down a bit, slapped it in a new aluminum frame, bolted on the other essentials and sold it as the SV1000.
She has a mere 110 horsepower, but she also has 100+ pounds of torque, which means she goes like stink when you turn the throttle, regardless of what gear you’re in. Roll the throttle long enough in first gear and a small rider will find the front end leaving the ground. Even a blip at 4000rpm’s in 2nd is enough to lift the front end of the bike with my fat ass on it. Keep on the gas and the front lifts higher as the back wheel tries to get in front of you.
And her big V-twin engine sounds really cool and pisses off the neighbors if I let it warm up in front of the house too long, thanks to the barely legal decibel rating of the aftermarket exhaust pipes I installed.
That being said, Im getting older, don’t heal as fast, and have more responsibilities. So I handle her with kid gloves. Ainia will run if I push her, but its no longer a race, its a journey.
Now there were a few years that Ainia didn’t get much attention. Photography had become my “thing to do”, so going for a ride became less interesting. Then, a couple months ago, Debra showed up at my house with the new motorcycle helmet she bought.
It took a couple outings for me to get reacquainted with Ainia, and for me to become accustomed to having a passenger, but now it is great fun. Ainia was born in twisty mountain roads, and her predecessor was a track star, so she is most at home leaned over in a sweeping corner. I like to lean the bike a little more than I need to with Debra on the back. I can feel her trying to be a compliant rider but if its long enough a sweeper, I feel her start to get nervous and try to fight my lean angle. Debra is just enough of an adrenalin junkie, that I think she likes the hint of danger. And when I get on the gas, charging well past the posted speed limit, passing slower traffic on a 2 lane highway, I can almost hear her squealing with joy.
Gold Mine!
So Debra says, “I want some apple pie”. An hour later she is at my house and I am packing my camera bag and we are off to Julian, California for pie. Its real easy to get to. Drive an hour south to San Diego, hang a left, and drive another hour. So we arrived and had some pie and coffee, and decided to check out Julian, while we were there. Walking past the town center we found a “things to do in Julian” map and decided to check out the local gold mine. It was awesome! Complete with a grizzled old prospector whos family owns the gold mine, and that gives the better part of an hour walking tour, stopping periodically to explain in great detail the whys and whats involved in an 1800′s gold mine. It was great but I was less interested in the gold mine, than I was in the workshop located just outside the mine entrance. I looked in the open garage sized door to see amazing collections of very old tools, and other gadgets, old and older, that may or may not have been used in the 1800′s mining process. I didnt care, it was dirty and rusty, and simply beautiful. I asked Mr. Grizzly if I could take a couple pictures in the workshop. He replied, “Why would you want to take pictures in here?” I smiled and said with no pun intended, “Its a gold mine!” We finished our day with a walk through a very old cemetery, a great bbq lunch, and a trip to the pie house with the best reviews found on Yahoo, for a couple of to-go pies, and headed home.
Violin Performance
Tomorrow night my boy has his 2nd violin performance. So I thought I better hurry up and post some pictures from his last performance. (Way to wait forever to share dad!) I guess I dont have to take any pictures tomorrow since he will be wearing the same white shirt. (he and I both have 1 polo shirt and 10 t-shirts in the wardrobe rotation.)
Reflections
An East Coast friendly photog decided to put together a little photo contest in her circle. “Reflections” is the name of the contest. Instinctively I started thinking about images that I have taken that involve a mirror, water, chrome, or glass. Boring! Fun at the time but quickly forgotten.
I want to share a reflection in this picture of a lighthouse that I took in August of 2008. Although there is a slight reflection in the water, that’s not why I bring it up.
Rather than for my own memories, my photography is more often creating memories for others. I get great satisfaction knowing that one of my snapshots means something special to someone else. Even greater satisfaction when that image means more in the future than when it was taken. If you dress up your 90 year old grandma, slap her in a wheel chair with an oxygen tank, and bring her to your wedding, Im going to take extra pictures of her. You’ll be glad I did.
Back to the lighthouse picture and its origin. I have a canvas print hanging in the entry way of my home, and occasionally a guest or client will comment on it. I tell them the story behind it and occasionally I can make the weak ones cry.
My mother was a photographer and my biggest fan. She always had a camera strapped around her neck. Although I didn’t find photography till late in the game, it brought us closer together her last few years. I found photography around the same time she found the internet, and it wasn’t long before we were sharing images via email daily. I could care less about the neighborhood dogs she photographed, or the flowers in her garden she would send pictures of, or her repeated attempts at getting a non blurry picture of a hummingbird. ( * Now I am quite fond of those types of images) And I’m sure she didn’t give a rats ass about the half naked ladies, fast cars, or motorcycle images I would share with her. It didn’t matter, we had photography.
My photography interests began to expand and I developed an appreciation for all types of photography. Sadly, this was about the time that my moms emphysema stained lungs really started kicking her ass. So our sharing of images quickly became just her commenting on my images. If she was having a good day, she would break out the camera, but barely had the energy to point it out the living room window, let alone go outside and enjoy it like she once did.
In her last few months I spent more time with her. Not nearly enough but it is hard for me to witness death. She was determined to live long enough to go thru every photo album with me, reliving every picture she bothered to put in an album. There were quite a few. Now those albums are in my possession and occasionally I will bust one out and think about her. I recently tried sharing an album of a family vacation mom made when I was 12ish. I found myself turning the pages quickly. Barely allowing enough time to talk about the image, and quick enough to not have the pain in my chest that comes with remembering mom.
It was pre arranged that when she was gone, that she would be cremated, and we would scatter her ashes at sea. Im not even sure why I brought my camera on the boat. Maybe its because mom would have. Maybe its because this was the day that we were celebrating her life. Anyway, I took this lighthouse picture from the boat shortly after we dumped her in the ocean.
I didn’t think much about it, and I didn’t pick up the camera again for a few days. When I uploaded those pictures to my computer, I instinctively attached that picture to an email and almost sent it to my moms address before it hit me that she was gone and I wouldn’t be able to share this image or any more images with her.
I have a serious love/hate relationship with this image, but it is one of my favorites. Its not my favorite because I got the exposure right, its in focus, or because its a bitchin image. Its my favorite because I cant walk past it without reflecting.
On the Menu
My son had a writing assignment for his 5th grade class and had to create a menu. I think it was definitely worth sharing so here it is. What my 11 year would do if I left him in the kitchen.
El Taco Loco
Our world famous taco made with steamed onions, freshly prepared pickles and lettuce, and delicious cheddar! We then cover it in a rich topping of salami and sauté with red peppers! Then we broil that in a layer of pepperoni, mushrooms, and pineapple! BUT, it’s not OUR taco until its covered in bacon, rapped up in a flapjack shell, and filled to the brim with sour cream! And that’s where its name comes from!
Hot Head Burrito
Our Hot Head Burrito is the spiciest food in existence, that’s remotely legal. Made from Ghost Pepper chilly, wasabi, and compound 839, the only word to describe it would be something like… “WAZZOWATZZ!!!” WARNING: Do not eat this if you have had a history of spontaneous combustion or stomach problems. It may cause your stomach acids to rise, burning out your esophagus.
Drought Ender
After eating the Hot Head Burrito you will immediately reach for this to prevent your mouth from imploding. Also it’s a great drink, made from every soda known to man, and 7 known only to apes. And its even got one of those little umbrellas. It costs 8,000 dollars to make. Umbrellas really shouldn’t be so expensive. So if you inexpensive beverages with expensive accessories then you’ll love this one too!
Killer Cheesecake
This is the amazing cake that’s to die for! People have literally jumped of the roof trying to steal someone’s Cheesecake. And that’s why it’s called “Killer Cheesecake”. It was originally called “Survivor Cheesecake”, but we had to change it. With 7,800 calories and 6500085 total trans fat, the Killer Cheesecake should be eaten only be whales and large eagles, But you can eat it too if you want. Try it with the suicide burger!
Diet Doomer
Do you feel hungry, tiered, bored, mildly thirsty, occasional sneezing, or even a wet tongue? Are you tired of dieting? Well now you wont have to be, because there’s The Diet Doomer! Its all the delicious flavors you could dream of, such as chocolate, mint, strawberry splat, blueberry bang, fudge, cookie dough, and vanilla! All for the low, low price of $9,595.95! To describe this in one word: Good!
One of Those Days
You ever have one of those days when nothing seems to be going your way. When your child is upset because the new wires on his braces make his mouth sore and he wont shut up about it. Your car is making a funny noise that is now worse, after the visit to the mechanic. A folder of freshly edited photos is nowhere to be found on your hard drive. You try to help out a friend who is in a funk, and you just seem to make matters worse. Welcome to my March 1st.
Its okay because the sun will shine again, and everything is merely in inconvenience. My life aint as great as Charlie Sheen’s but its pretty good. And when the occasional gray day hits, I reach into the archives and look at pictures that make me smile. These pictures are a couple years old but they are great. I occasionally will chaperone my sons school field trips just to watch the kids smile and love life. What is your happy place?
